Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Barren Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1975 on and the census since 2000.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Barren Township’s history is told.
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Barren Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Barren Township is one of twelve townships in Franklin County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 551 and it contained 248 housing units.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 496 to 551 (+11%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Barren Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Barren Township has the distinction of having a great city on paper, that was never built. It is not generally known, but a long time ago a scheme was hatched for building a great city in Franklin County. The Centennial Committee of 1876 gives the following history: “In 1840, Zodac Casey of Mt.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The south side of Barren Township, west of Big Muddy, is known as part of the Spring settlement, and the south part of the township east of Big Muddy has been known as the “Diggins,” which was the haunts of the celebrated “J oab” of old.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Barren Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Barren Township.
Between 496 and 551 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Barren Township’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Barren Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
